


hide and seek

by awkwardspaceturtle (CastelloFlare)



Series: tiny sheiths [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Orphanage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7857736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastelloFlare/pseuds/awkwardspaceturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sisters at the orphanage found that playing Hide-and-Seek wasn’t that easy – not with Little Shiro and Little Keith. They didn’t realize the complication at first, not when neither of the pair was ‘it’, but it became apparent when it was finally Little Keith’s turn to look for the other kids.</p><p>The small child absolutely refused to leave Shiro.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hide and seek

**Author's Note:**

> day3 of sheithweek on twitter!  
> i heard it's pining, so... i guess this is my take on it, and this is how pining goes between toddlers??? lmao i hope i am doing this one right  
> thank you for clicking on this!

 

The Sisters at the orphanage found that playing Hide-and-Seek wasn’t that easy – not with Little Shiro and Little Keith. They didn’t realize the complication at first, not when neither of the pair was _‘it’_ , but it became apparent when it was finally Little Keith’s turn to look for the other kids.

The small child absolutely refused to leave Shiro.

“But rules are rules,” one kid said matter-of-factly, a seven year-old. “You have to close your eyes and look for the others _by yourself_.”

Keith’s grip on Shiro’s hand noticeably tightened at the mention of the last two words.

“Now, kids, settle down,” one of the Sisters said, her hands raised in a calming gesture. “Keith, do you want to be _‘it’_ later? We can ask someone else to be _‘it’_ for now if you’re not feeling too well.”

A loud chorus of _Pick me!_ ’s and _I wanna be it!_ ’s erupted in the yard as kids of different ages pumped one eager hand into the air, volunteering themselves to continue playing the game.

Keith frowned at the grass beneath his feet, his fingers tightly wound around Shiro’s palm. Shiro felt and knew just how Keith wanted to play and how much he didn’t want to let their friends and the Sisters down. He wasn’t going to let him feel left out, either.

“Keith will do it,” Shiro announced, raising their clasped hands together.

“He will?”

“I will?” Little Keith squeaked.

“Of course,” Shiro smiled. “And I’ll help you.”

“But that’s cheating!” Someone yelled.

“It’s not if he can’t see me,” Shiro said calmly, a plan already deeply rooted in his mind.

 

 

“Okay, Keith,” Shiro said. “I’m going to count from one to ten, okay?”

“Okay,” Keith said.

“No peeking.”

Keith shook his head, his lips set in a tight line. The other players, both Sisters and other children, had scattered all around the yard to look for their hiding places. Shiro’s little hands were gently pressed over his closed eyes, spreading warmth on Keith’s cheeks where Shiro’s tender palms touched.

“One…” Shiro began, and as he counted, Keith remained glued to where he stood in the middle of the yard, listening to the other youngling’s voice faithfully, until: “… Ten.”

A moment of silent calm passed over them before Keith moved his arms up, and slowly peeled Shiro’s hands from his face. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and with his tiny hands still locked with Shiro’s, his face broke into the warmest of smiles, and he exclaimed, a loud delighted sound like a million little bells.

“I found Shiro,” he said, his grin extending from ear to ear.

“Yeah, you found me,” Shiro smiled back, reflecting the same brightness on Keith’s face.

It took a full minute of listening to the couple of giggles in the middle of the yard for the Sisters to accept that Little Keith wasn’t going to look for the others anymore after finding Little Shiro, and with resigned smiles, they slowly came out of their hiding posts and gathered everyone again.

 

 

“But why can’t Shiro stay with me?” the four-year-old asked, his plump face twisted into a worried, scared look, watery eyes locked onto Shiro, one tiny hand wrapped in his friend’s other tiny hand. Beside him, the older toddler looked on with a rueful smile – Shiro was older by two years, and he understood that for the game to work, they had to be parted, even for just a little while.

“He will still be with you,” one of the Sisters said, kneeling in front of the two. “You just won’t see him, but he will still be here in the yard, just like the rest of us.”

“But—” Keith stammered, his eyebrows furrowed, cherry-colored cheeks puffed out, but the soft squeeze he felt on his hand held him back.

“It’s alright, Keith,” Shiro smiled at him reassuringly. “You found me just now, didn’t you? _You’re_ gonna be alright.”

A moment of silence passed between the two, and the Sisters waited patiently before Keith spoke.

“Don’t go too far where I won’t find you, okay?” Keith finally said, his face visibly softening, the tension leaving his shoulders.

“I won’t.”

 

 

And thus, the next round of Hide-and-Seek started.

Keith was left alone by the tree in the middle of the yard to count up to five (he gets lost when he gets to six), a Sister hiding behind the nearest bush to check on him. Counting to five was a task that took the toddler around half a minute – _“One… Two… Cat… Leaf… Two… wait, um, White… Little birdy…”_ – and when he’d finally finished, everyone had more than enough time to look for their own hiding places.

Naturally, Keith started with the nearest bush where Sister Heather was crouched behind – the easiest, and also planted, target. When the four year-old circled the bush and saw her, the Sister smiled happily and said, “Great job, Keith! You found me.”

Little Keith just looked at her silently, on his face an expression of… disappointment? Loneliness? Then, without tagging the Sister at all, he craned his head around to the sides, muttering an almost inaudible “Where’s Shiro…?”

Then he moved on, leaving Sister Heather untagged and staring after his petite form jogging down the yard to look at the next tree.

“Aaah!” Josh, a five year-old, squealed from behind it. “I’ve been found!”

And yet again, Little Keith only furrowed his eyebrows, his face full of mixed wonder and again, dissatisfaction at what he’d found, and innocently said, “I’m looking for Shiro.”

Josh blinked, unsure if Little Keith wanted an answer for that but he, too, was left untagged in his hiding place, Keith already bolting on his tiny stout legs towards the next bush.

Then, a happy squeal: “I found Shiro!”

And the pair of them rolled on the grass, laughing together like they were stuck in their own little bubble of just the two of them and nobody else.

In the next round, and the ones to follow after, everyone – both Sisters and young children – was in agreement of letting Little Keith and Little Shiro do the seeking part of the game together.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading until the end!  
> if you just wanna sheith, hmu on tumblr, this is the always procrastinating model citizen @eruriholic


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